Al Joseph Johnson (born January 27, 1979) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former player. He served as the head football coach of the

East Central University East Central University (ECU or East Central) is a public university in Ada, Oklahoma. It is part of Oklahoma's Regional University System. Beyond its flagship campus in Ada, the university has courses available in McAlester, Shawnee, and Duran ...

Ada, Oklahoma Ada is a city in and the county seat of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,481 at the 2020 United States census. The city was named for Ada Reed, the daughter of an early settler, and was in ...

from 2018 to 2021. Johnson played professionally as a center and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

and

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

Early life

Johnson attended Southern Door High School in Brussels, Wisconsin, where he was two-way football player, earning second-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

from Prep Football Report, Packerland conference player of the year and All-State honors. He played in the Wisconsin Shrine Game. As a senior, he won the state title in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

and was named the conference player of the year in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

College career

Johnson accepted a football scholarship from the

along with his cousin Ben Johnson. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

freshman, he appeared in 7 games, playing mainly on the

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

and

extra point Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...

conversion lines. He became a starter at center in the second game of his sophomore season, when

Casey Rabach was moved to

right guard In American football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is an offensive line player who lines up between the center and the tackles. Like other offensive line positions, guards are used primarily for blocking. Right ...

. He started every game as a junior. He was named team captain and received second-team All-Big Ten honors as a senior.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

One of the priorities in

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells ( ; born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He came to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 19 ...

first season as the head coach of the

was improving the center position play. To that end, he made Andre Gurode concentrate on playing

and selected Johnson in the second round (38th overall) of the

2003 NFL draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

. In

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

he was named the starter, but suffered a right knee injury during a practice that required

microfracture surgery Microfracture surgery is an articular cartilage repair surgical technique that works by creating tiny fractures in the underlying bone. This causes new cartilage to develop from a so-called super-clot. The surgery is quick (typically lasting bet ...

, which was thought to be career-threatening, because at the time not many players fully recovered from this medical procedure. In 2004,

Tyson Walter Tyson Barrett Walter (born March 17, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a center n the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Green Bay Packers. He played college football ...

was named the starter at center, but suffered a sprained left knee in the second quarter of the season opener against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

, opening the door for Johnson to start in the rest of the games. The next year, after facing competition in

from Gurode, he went on to start all 16 games, but still split time at center. In 2006, he lost the starting position to Gurode, who went on to become a

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

er. The Cowboys didn't re-sign him in

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

at the end of the season.

Arizona Cardinals

On March 5, 2007, the

signed him to a contract as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. He started 14 games at center (missing weeks 2 and 3 with a left knee injury), as part of an

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

that allowed the team's fewest sacks (24) in 20 years and that helped

Edgerrin James Edgerrin Tyree James (; born August 1, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at the University of Miami for the Miami Hur ...

rush for 1,222 yards. In the 2008 off-season, Johnson underwent two surgeries on his left knee and was placed on the

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

list. On October 21, he was released with an injury settlement, after the team couldn't reach an agreement to restructure his contract.

Miami Dolphins

On November 29, 2008, Johnson was signed by the

, reuniting with Bill Parcells, who was the Executive Vice President of Football Operations. He played as a reserve center and guard in only four games, because he experienced recurring problems with his left knee.

New England Patriots

On March 16, 2009, Johnson signed with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

as an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. He was waived with an injury settlement on August 6, to make room for Derrick Burgess.

Coaching career

In 2013, Johnson was hired as the offensive coordinator at Southern Door High School. In 2014, he was an assistant football coach and offensive coordinator at

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

St. Norbert College. He also was an assistant coach at Southern Door High School in Brussels and a morning show personality on WQDC, which he owned. In 2016, he joined the University of Wisconsin football staff as an assistant offensive line coach. In December 2017, he was named the head football coach at

Head coaching record

References

External links

East Central profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Al 1979 births Living people American football centers American football offensive guards Arizona Cardinals players Dallas Cowboys players East Central Tigers football coaches Miami Dolphins players St. Norbert Green Knights football coaches Wisconsin Badgers football coaches Wisconsin Badgers football players High school football coaches in Wisconsin People from Door County, Wisconsin Coaches of American football from Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin Montana State Bobcats football coaches New England Patriots players